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On exposed sandstone in a region with torrential rains for 8000 years? That doesn't seem likely to me. Am I missing something?

I can't tell if they're on exposed stone or not from the pictures and video, except for the fact that all images seem very well lit. And sometimes seem to feature natural shadows.

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Not much rain in some deserts. In Utah you can see lots of similar carvings that are 1000 + years old. Those do look pretty clean though.

My bad the article said seasonal rains, not torrential. We have stone carvings in scandinavia too but I assumed sandstone was much more susceptible to weather. If not the rain then wind and sand alone over 8000 years would wear it out.

Ancient humans probably knew this too because many examples of carvings and paintings were made in places protected from the elements, like caves and overhangs. They probably also decorated more exposed areas that haven't survived as well, as you note.

Mesa Verde as one example includes such cultural works dating back to 600CE. https://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

>many examples of carvings and paintings were made in places protected from the elements, like caves and overhangs

But how can we know if that was deliberate or a result of natural erosion weeding out the covered carvings from the uncovered?

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